New manuscript discoveries have provided a greatly enhanced basis for this work of Hildegard von Bingen's on natural history and healing, which now contains twice the amount of text as the previous standard edition from 1855. The worlds of animals and plants, together with precious stones, metals and earths, are treated in their entirety from a specific medieval perspective, with a focus on the healing properties of the individual objects from the natural world. In addition, the numerous German words sprinkled throughout the Latin text provide new impulses for research into the history of the German language. Key features: First complete critical edition of the famous "Physica" Based on the newly discovered, unabridged Florentine manuscript Of great interest to medievalists, germanists, medieval latinists, naturalists and medical historians New standard text edition